Map Making Tutorial
This tutorial only applies to Zombiecraft 2.x! So, you want to make a ZombieCraft map? If the picture to the right doesn't scare you, keep reading! Downloading & Installing the ZombieCraft Map Editor The most up to date releases can be downloaded off my thread at minecraftforums: http://bit.ly/qb3KnS * Before continuing, I should point out that unless you own Minecraft legitly, the auto updater will not work for you. *Extract the contents of the zip into %appdata%\.minecraft *Run ZombieCraft_Editor.jar with Java Platform SE, from anywhere! Or in command line: java -jar ZombieCraft_Editor.jar Editing or Creating a New Map New maps are easy, click create a map in the main menu, and just like minecraft, you create a new level. To edit an existing zombiecraft map, just run the level and exit it, then you can go into create a map and it should be at the top of the list, every time you run a level from the main ZombieCraft menu item, it re-extracts the world overtop whatever was in the create a map listing, so don't run the world from ZombieCraft level menu unless you want to lose the existing edited map state in the create a map listing. Maps in the create a map listing are accessable in the %appdata%/.minecraft/zctemp folder, fully packaged maps are in the zcmaps folder. For info on how to package a map see TOC: Packaging your Map for Distribution Getting Started with Editing First things first, enable dev mode, which can be done by accessing the Zombiemod menu item in the pause menu, then clicking dev mode, see picture for example -> Now you're in map edit mode you can freely change the map, heres a detailed list on the options in the Zombiemod menu that aren't self explanatory. 'Dev Mode' *Allows you to break blocks *Allows you to move through fully broken barricades (doors) *Makes the various trigger blocks visible for placing/removing *Lets you repair doors by clicking on them *Lets you see waypoint nodes 'Door No-clip' *Allows you to move through barricades (doors) no matter the damage, as well as move through barriers (fences), makes edting rooms with limited access much easier 'Start game' *Game does not automatically start, so use this to test start it, also every time you click it, in increases the wave number (bugs out the required kill count if zombies already spawned, will be ok the wave after) 'Give spawnblocks' *A depreciated feature, gives you an incomplete list of ZombieCraft specific blocks, and way too many, use TMI instead. 'Power On' *Manual override for world power (to use perk machines and traps), so you can automatically have power on if you so wish in your map, also usefull for resetting for testing Basic Map Requirements In order to have a playable ZombieCraft map, you need the following: *At least 1 Wave Spawn Block linked to an already destroyed block (link to block, then destroy block), this defaults the spawnblock to active *A weapon and ammo in inventory, unless you want them to start with their fists *An entirely contained area, otherwise the player can get out of the range of the zombies navigation area (Semi-optional) *Navigation Waypoints that are connected to each other and extend from Spawn Blocks to the player as well as every place the player can reach Blocks with Changed Behaviors Right now, ZombieCraft is based off of MC b1.3_01, which means you have redstone repeaters, but no pistons. 'Switches' *Can only be activated by the player, only trap triggers can turn them back off *if placed above the "power trigger" block, it can be used to activate the block too *if placed above the "trap trigger plate" block, you will be able to use it to activate the trap, as well as use it as a visual indicator to see if the trap is still on, once the trap deactivates, it turns off the switch too 'Doors' *Wooden doors are the repairable barricades, and are positioned in the middle of the block it's placed on *Iron doors cost 750 points to open or close, an unused feature in official ZombieCraft maps *Bullets can go through the top part of the door 'Fences' *Can be stacked, breaks all connected fences on break *Bullets can go through them There may be some others, let me know if you notice any change in any other block behaviour. Using Wave Spawn Blocks & SpawnLinker Tool SpawnBlocks are what spawn all the monsters you see in ZombieCraft, like most of the custom blocks, they are either invisible or look like a dark brownish color. SpawnBlocks are linked to a destroyable block you set somewhere in the world. Once that block is destroyed, the SpawnBlock becomes active, so when you progress further in a level and destroy barriers, more SpawnBlocks activate for those new areas. As long as their linked block is destroyed, and a wave is active and there are still monsters to spawn, it will try to spawn a zombie with a delay depending on the wave, specifically: random(300) + 150 - (zombieWave*difficultyFactor)+50; 'How to Use' *Get the SpawnLinker tool in page 5 of your inventory, looks like a plain stick, then get some SpawnBlocks from page 2 in your inventory, place them in your level where you need to * For your SpawnBlocks that must be activated right away, place a single dirt block close and convinient to your SpawnBlocks, right click the dirt block, you should see a message similar to the right. *For broken barrier/glass activated SpawnBlocks, just right click the barrier you want it to trigger from, and they will activate when the player destroys the barrier using the purchase trigger *Go to each SpawnBlock and right click it, linking it to destroyable block, there is no limit to how many SpawnBlocks can be linked to a single block *Once you are sure you have all the SpawnBlocks placed that must be activated right away, destroy the dirt block, now they are all activated * Since SpawnBlocks can only link to 1 destroyable block, put multiple SpawnBlocks in an area if you want to give the player multiple ways of entry into that new area, if you want a higher rate of zombies to spawn in that area, add more SpawnBlocks Using Barriers & Debris Trigger Blocks Barriers are just fences that break all other connected fence pieces when the first destroyed, using trigger blocks allows the player to take down these barriers. *Debris Trigger Blocks are in the first row of the trigger blocks *Place them along the accessable area against your barrier you want to break *Waypoint nodes will appear broken between barriers, but will reconnect once the barrier is destroyed Using Traps Traps are 2 blocks, the trigger block, and the electricity / kill block *Switches can be placed above trigger blocks to trigger and see the trap state *A trap trigger block will activate the first trap kill block it finds within a 7 block horizontal radius *When a trap kill block is activated, it activates all the connected kill blocks around it, and so on *Traps last 20 seconds Using Waypoint Nodes These are required if you want zombies to know how to get around, in large flat areas they are easy to setup, for stairs, you have to position the nodes closer together, but it allows for proper tight stairs navigation of zombies, more info: *Open Areas: In flat even areas with no height change, nodes must be within 12 blocks of eachother to connect *Stairs: If node height differences are greater than 1 block (0.8 to be exact), it will only connect to nodes that are within a horizontal 2 block distance *The player must be within 16 blocks of a node on the same height level for a zombie to try to pathfind to that area *Waypoint nodes will appear broken between barriers, but will reconnect once the barrier is destroyed 'How to Use' *Get the item on page 5 of your inventory, it also looks like a stick, it's near the spawnlinker *Right click to create a node, if you're already standing within a block of a node, it removes the node *Every time you create or remove a node, it recalculates the connections Packaging & Testing Your Map ZombieCraft is able to reset the map state because it re-extracts the whole level every time you run it through the main ZombieCraft "choose map" screen. So to test your barriers and other stuff that can get destroyed, you need to package up your map. 'Packaging' *First, find your maps folder in %appdata%/.minecraft/zctemp *Open up the folder, you will be adding the contents of your save folder to a zip file, but first the map.txt file *Create a text file called map.txt , in this file you can set your displayed map name and description *Line 1: Map name, Line 2 & 3: Description *Now using winrar or anything that can create zip files, make a zip file out of the whole contents of the save folder, for example MyMap.zip , the zip file name determines the folder name used in zctemp *put the zip file into %appdata%/.minecraft/zcmaps 'Testing' *Now you should be able to see your map in the "choose map" menu, don't forget, running the map from here extracts it overtop the copy in the zctemp folder, but you shouldn't have changed it so nothing should be lost *Once your done with testing and need to go back to editing, rerun the level from "choose map" menu and exit right away, so you have a fresh unzombified snapshot of the level to change in editing, thats about it, happy editing!